Often, many businesses forget to create informative content when producing marketing material or other forms of copy. This is a big mistake. Content that any marketer or business relays to their customer needs to provide some sort of value to the reader, as without this, what is the point? It just becomes meaningless filler content encouraging customers to switch off, lose interest and move on to another competitor. 

Here are 3 potential pitfalls should your business not provide informative content:

Customers Switch Off

All in all, the goal of content marketing is to attract new customers and potential leads. Yet the easiest way to achieve this is through luring people in with sales and discounts. Although this is a proven and effective way to engage customers, utilizing this tactic too frequently will only bore customers. Research conducted by Marketing Week found that just over 70% of readers are turned off by content which feels like a sales pitch. 

Lack of Trust

Not displaying need-to-know content on your website or in your messaging can make it hard for customers to trust your brand. Having to search endlessly to find your contact details or a specific good will frustrate customers, imprinting them with a bad impression and poor brand experience.

Prevents Purchase

Lack of appropriate and informative content can hinder the customer’s progression into the purchase stage of the buying cycle. Before purchase, customers will (1) recognize a need or problem (2) information search (3) evaluate any alternative options and (4) decide on which product to purchase. All of these steps are reliant on customers finding all the information they need to fulfill these steps. Therefore, without informative content to help guide the customer from one step to another, it is hard for them to progress. 

This particular point will be a huge disadvantage to any business and will minimize lead conversions and potential sales. Therefore, ensure that you have displayed all essential content within your advertisement, website, or other marketing platforms. 

How Can I Ensure My Content Is Informative?

The best place to start is thinking about what your aim or objective for your content should be. If you want to simply showcase your range of services and products on offer, then ensure that you teach the reader what your products do, how they can help, and why they need it. Alternatively, if you’re aiming to increase website traffic, then the information provided should include an incentive, along with a call to action to drive the customer to the website. Knowing your aim and objective will optimize your marketing efforts and help you to achieve better results.

Regarding content for websites, ensure that your content is easily accessible and user-friendly. Structure your content into pages and keep all contact information somewhere easy to find, like at the top or bottom of the page. Write articles, blog posts or even upload how-to videos to not only keep your customers engaged but to help solve their burning questions and let them learn something new.

Also, remember to not to cram your content with too many messages or information, as this can do you more harm than good. Instead, include visual imagery to add an aesthetic appeal or add subtitles to break up big chunks of text.

If you’re unsure of how well you’re doing, why not test your content with customers using the A/B testing technique beforehand? Or survey a handful of existing customers to find out how effective and informative your content really is. 

These tips will help get you back on the right track so you’ll be one step closer to achieving your digital marketing goals.